ICC refuses to intervene in ICL issue
Thursday, 23 August 2007
The International Cricket Council (ICC) refuses to intervene in the tussle between the unofficial Indian Cricket League (ICL) and the Indian Board (BCCI), maintaining that national cricket boards should take their own decisions regarding the ICL.
"The ICC Executive Board has taken a policy decision that the BCCI was the only competent authority to deal with the issue. It is upto the BCCI to decide whether to recognise the ICL or not," an ICC spokesman told the PTI.
"The executive board had told the BCCI that it was an internal matter and it was left to them whether to recognise the ICL or not. The ICC had told them that cricket should not suffer," he added.
The Indian and Pakistan boards have come down heavily on players aligning with the ICL by banning them from playing for their country or in official domestic tournaments. The ICL has so far signed 51 players, including several international stars, among them Brian Lara, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf and Lance Klusener, while Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Chris Harris have also been linked with it.
Meantime, Dilip Vengsarkar, India's chief selector, identified lucrative financial rewards as the driving factor behind players joining the ICL, but was confident that big-name players would not be tempted because they are "already getting plenty" playing for India.
"Money, it appears, has been the main attraction," Vengsarkar told the Kolkata-based Telegraph. "They've made a choice... I don't think the biggest names will be tempted simply because they're already getting plenty. I doubt if they [those who have joined ICL] discussed things with either family or friends, though," he opined.
Vengsarkar said, however, that the current situation was very different from the time he and five other Indian players, namely Bishen Singh Bedi, Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Viswanath, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Syed Kirmani were approached by Kerry Packer's recruiters in 1978-79.
"Then, we hardly got anything. There was just no money in international cricket."
However, Vengsarkar admitted he was not sure what decision he would have taken then. The offer came late and Packer had reconciled with the establishment before Vengsarkar could decide.
Meanwhile, Rohan Gavaskar has also confirmed an approach from the ICL, though he is yet to take a decision. "I've got an offer, yes, but haven't made up my mind," Gavaskar said.
Bengal, the team Gavaskar plays for, has already lost seven players - Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Deep Dasgupta, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Shibsagar Singh, Subhomoy Das, Subhojit Paul and Syed Akhlakh Ahmed - to the ICL.
"The ICC Executive Board has taken a policy decision that the BCCI was the only competent authority to deal with the issue. It is upto the BCCI to decide whether to recognise the ICL or not," an ICC spokesman told the PTI.
"The executive board had told the BCCI that it was an internal matter and it was left to them whether to recognise the ICL or not. The ICC had told them that cricket should not suffer," he added.
The Indian and Pakistan boards have come down heavily on players aligning with the ICL by banning them from playing for their country or in official domestic tournaments. The ICL has so far signed 51 players, including several international stars, among them Brian Lara, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf and Lance Klusener, while Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Chris Harris have also been linked with it.
Meantime, Dilip Vengsarkar, India's chief selector, identified lucrative financial rewards as the driving factor behind players joining the ICL, but was confident that big-name players would not be tempted because they are "already getting plenty" playing for India.
"Money, it appears, has been the main attraction," Vengsarkar told the Kolkata-based Telegraph. "They've made a choice... I don't think the biggest names will be tempted simply because they're already getting plenty. I doubt if they [those who have joined ICL] discussed things with either family or friends, though," he opined.
Vengsarkar said, however, that the current situation was very different from the time he and five other Indian players, namely Bishen Singh Bedi, Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Viswanath, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Syed Kirmani were approached by Kerry Packer's recruiters in 1978-79.
"Then, we hardly got anything. There was just no money in international cricket."
However, Vengsarkar admitted he was not sure what decision he would have taken then. The offer came late and Packer had reconciled with the establishment before Vengsarkar could decide.
Meanwhile, Rohan Gavaskar has also confirmed an approach from the ICL, though he is yet to take a decision. "I've got an offer, yes, but haven't made up my mind," Gavaskar said.
Bengal, the team Gavaskar plays for, has already lost seven players - Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Deep Dasgupta, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Shibsagar Singh, Subhomoy Das, Subhojit Paul and Syed Akhlakh Ahmed - to the ICL.